The Roland Rocket

Being a member of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club has its advantages on and off the field of play. Since all the members are between the ages of 60 to 86, you are bound to run into an old sports story, or two...or three, just by listening to a teammate in the dugout as he lets loose with a flashback to the 1940s, 1950s, or even the 1960s. In some of my previous posts, I've documented a few of those stories, but the following story may just be the best of the bunch. DeLon "Doc" Thompson, 69 , is one of the top pitchers on the TOTS, a hard-throwing right-hander who can throw one by you, clip the outside corner of the plate more times than not, and send you back to the dugout, scratching your head. In other words, catch you lookin' at strike three!

 Fifty years ago, Thompson (above photo) signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins and played a couple of years of minor-league ball. But the big SPORTS story in the life of DeLon Thompson, occurred long before that, back when he was just nine years old. DeLon's older brother, Gary, led the high school team in the small town of Roland, Iowa, population 700, to the 1951 state basketball finals, knocking off the bigger schools from Waterloo and Des Moines along the way, before falling to Davenport in the title game. Of course, by the time Roland had reached the final, Gary Thompson and his teammates were big news, aka the Hoosiers.

 And it didn't stop there for DeLon's older brother as he went on to Iowa State and became an All American. In 1957, Gary Thompson and the Cyclones upset Wilt Chamberlain and the powerful Kansas Jayhawks, as the Iowa State coach, Bill Strannigan, used a slow-down offense and Gary's athletic ability at the guard position to dismantle Kansas, 39-37. Gary Thompson appeared later that same year on the Ed Sullivan Show, along with Chamberlain, and the rest of the collegiate All-Americans. Gary Thompson went on to play for the Phillips 66ers and then spent 34 years as a color commentator on television, covering Iowa State Cyclones basketball. Gary is known through out Iowa as the "Roland Rocket". DeLon followed his brother to Iowa State and played baseball for the Cyclones and even owned a Cyclone pitching record, or two. After college and a short stint in the minor leagues, DeLon turned to the field of music. He has a country music album out and numerous Cd's.

 And, yes! He still throws a mean fastball.